Crow and the Sea
He tried ignoring the sea But it was bigger than death, just as it was bigger than life. He tried talking to the sea But his brain shuttered and his eyes winced from it as from open flame. He tried sympathy for the sea But it shouldered him off - as a dead thing shoulders you off. He tried hating the sea But instantly felt like a scrutty dry rabbit-dropping on the windy cliff. He tried just being in the same world as the sea But his lungs were not deep enough And his cheery blood banged off it Like a water-drop off a hot stove. Finally He turned his back and he marched away from the sea As a crucified man cannot move.
Crow and the Sea - meaning Summary
Confronting the Inhuman Vast
The poem presents Crow confronting the sea as something too vast and impersonal for human-like responses. He tries denial, speech, sympathy, hatred, and coexistence, but each attempt exposes his smallness and bodily limits. His final departure is paradoxical: he appears to march away, yet the ending compares him to a crucified man, suggesting that escape from such overwhelming reality is impossible.
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